I worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios as a contractor (less than a year)

Pros

Amazingly talented and friendly people to work with. Amazing working environment and a ton of perks. The best studio I have worked with so far. Great environment for growing as an artist. If you are talented there are so many options for you to move around and grow here. There is a culture that pushes the art side of things higher than other studios I have been.

Cons

Hours can get very long and you must deal with the union to be employed. Unfortunately also you have to move to Los Angeles to work at this amazing company.

I have been working at Walt Disney Animation Studios as a contractor (less than a year)

Pros

Disney Animation Studio has amazingly talented people that are a pleasure to work with. There is an incredible creative work environment. Ton's of access to everything Disney from upcoming projects to resources like the Disney library and the studio lot which is one of the most amazing places I've ever seen. Great life/work balance. Managers respect you and treat you with the utmost professionalism and it's not just them, everyone at the company subscribes to this. Perhaps because folks that work at Disney feel comfortable that they've made it but this was by far one of the most respectful and pleasant places I've ever worked. The pay is really good. Benefits are great once they kick in ( after working 600 hours if you're not already IATSE, 400 if you are ). Disney Animation offers career coaching which is amazing. There is an open door policy when it comes to this. If there's a direction you want to pursue in your career, your managers will happily help get you there and give you the tools and support you need to achieve your goals. Even for me as a contractor this was available and invaluable.

The brand is bigger than life. Silver pass is amazing if you love Disneyland/world, have kids, have a pulse ;). Free Disneyland/world for you and your family, what could be better than that? Great extra curricular activities sponsored by company. Disney discounts are great. They own much more than most realize so their discounts are extensive. I looked forward to every day of work, worked hard, worked with amazing talent and still had time to be home for dinner and see my family. Of course if you're the type that just wants to work, work, work, you can do that too. Over all I loved working at WDAS and would happily return.

Cons

If you haven't already worked at Disney as a union employee (IATSE) you have to work 600 hours before you can apply for benefits. If you're returning it's 400 hours. For me, being on a 7 month contract that meant that I was paying for my own insurance until the day after I left, but then I had health coverage for the next year covered 100%. The time you're covered depends on how many hours you worked. For me that meant 12 months of coverage, for others it meant 6 months. This is a strange thing that pertains mostly to contract employees and in my situation the day my benefits kicked in just happened to be the Monday following my last day. That is not their policy, just the way it played out for me. Other than navigating the union I have no other cons to report about the company.